Gratitude. The new black of the enlighten path. Journals, meditation apps, Instagram quotes. It’s everywhere. And, rightfully so. Gratitude can be very powerful if intentionally practised, as goes the karma with simple appreciation for what you have; for your life.
The practice of gratitude is exercising vibrational shift. It’s not super science to understand that being thankful is putting yourself in a better frame of mind than if you were to be focusing on that which you don’t have. Practising gratitude elicits a feeling of abundance. That feeling of abundance raises your vibration which, in turn, puts you in a better place mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate endeavour. Even simply think of your basic functioning health relative to what many others have to contend with. That alone is enough to appreciate how precious life is.
For most of us (I’m assuming), we have more than we don’t have. Not uncommon, it’s easy to focus on what we lack; even when what we do have vastly outweighs what we don’t. Let’s chalk it up to the human condition. Does that make it excusatory? No. But, you don’t have to beat yourself up about it, either. Awareness, right?
Gratitude elevates your vibration; it shifts your focus. If you’re a subscriber to the law of attraction, when you give thanks for what you have, you put yourself in a position to be able to give more thanks for more things. Once you get that snowball rolling down the hill, you will move with the power. It will require less of a push and more ‘keeping up’ with the abundance.
But! As much as all of that is indeed ‘practising’ gratitude, I’d like to challenge the notion (in a good way).
Establishing an internal emotional foundation of gratitude is definitely the starting point. That’s where the journals, the meditation apps, the Instagram quotes and introspective thought all come into play; they assist in the focus. That is ‘contemplating’ gratitude. It’s an awareness to it. It’s acknowledging and receiving the energy of it. It’s building that framework so as to be able to expand upon it in a greater capacity.
But, ‘practising’ gratitude?
Practising gratitude is that next step from contemplating gratitude. It’s doing something with the contemplation. We’ve all read or heard stories of those with even the most meager of resources still finding a way to give to the less fortunate. A simplistic illustration of the bounds that are possible.
But, practising gratitude isn’t really all that metric. It can be, but it’s just giving something tangible. Practising gratitude is really just being the best person you possibly can. When you’ve acknowledged all that you have to be thankful for, how do you translate that into your everyday actions? How do you use the energy of that higher vibration? Are you kind? Do you offer a smile or hug whenever you can? Do you respect the earth? Do you lift others up? Do you accept the gratitude and Love of others? Or, do you complain? Do you make yourself a victim? Do you view things through a negative lens? Do you focus on what you need to simply further your own agenda? Do you turn away the gratitude and Love of others? How are you really practising gratitude?
It’s possible to contemplate gratitude at great length, on a daily basis, but not actually live it. Not actually practise it. And hey, I get it. It’s not so easy to wake up one day and start doing all these positive things without any hiccups. But then, how else do you do it? How else do you start doing something other than start doing it? Your mind, your emotions, your awareness, all have to begin somewhere. It’s a conscious choice to hold yourself accountable to share how beautiful you are. And, it starts with the recognition and appreciation of the beauty in your life. It’s the input of that energy that fuels the output of our actions.
Practising gratitude is how you live out what you have to be grateful for in your life. Being in the space of gratitude is what enables us to share the space of gratitude. And, sharing the space of gratitude, whether reciprocated or not, builds that energy and vibration. It builds your spirit, it builds your Love.
“for it is in giving that we receive.”
Francis of Assisi
Be Love.
